Veterans receive care at Stand Down

SOLDIERS IN NEED: Veterans Gene McAnally and David Krieger, right, line up for dental care at the third North Valley Veterans Stand Down. The event serves veterans, some homeless, from Yuba City to the Oregon border with information and medical care.

Fifty-three veterans of the U.S. military slept in tents at the Shasta District Fairgrounds Friday night. Several of the veterans were otherwise homeless. The men and women came to the fairgrounds to attend the third annual North Valley Veterans Stand Down.

The event, sponsored by several veterans organizations, served veterans and their dependents from the Oregon border to Yuba City. A list of 37 care services stationed at the event was provided to each veteran at registration. The list including dentists, doctors, podiatrists, mental health workers, Social Security workers, and members from California Department of Veterans Affairs.

"It's the best way to get veterans and the services they need together," said Stand Down coordinator Dale Streetman. "Many are looking for work. They're doing what they can to sustain life, and here they don't have to swallow their pride to do it."

"There's a camaraderie amongst vets, I think they're enjoying that," veteran and volunteer John Berry said.

One veteran, Steve, came to the Stand Down event the previous year for help. He had broken his leg, lost his job, and lost his home because he couldn't make rent. Steve spent his nights in a shack and leaned hard on whiskey. He considered suicide.

"People treat you like crap, you smell bad, you don't realize you're a mess," he said. "I didn't realize how far down I was. I was too drunk to notice."

Friends gave him a ride to the Stand Down in 2007, where he talked to some volunteers that had They had lived under a bridge before turning their lives around, he said.

He accepted the help available.

"There are a lot of guys who don't want it. A lot want to stay drunk. Others want to be human again. It was worth it to me. Anything you bring [to the Stand Down] you have to leave at the gate, whether it's attitude, dope or booze," Steve said. "I met people who [care] and let me know I'm a human being."

The effect on Steve's life was profound. He was able to get sober to get a job and provide himself a residence. Steve returned to Stand Down this year to help others in the same way others had helped him.

The Stand Down event has served about 350 veterans at the Shasta District Fair grounds over the last three years. Approximately 150 volunteers staff the event, including 24-hour security from Friday through Sunday.

Veteran David Krieger resigned himself to waiting for service outside the busy HOPE trailer, a mobile medical facility operated by Shasta Community Health Center.

"Whether they can do anything or not, it takes time to get to everybody."

On Monday, Krieger contacted the Valley Post to add that the doctors pulled eight of his teeth and that he really appreciated all they did for him.

For more information, contact Shasta County Veterans Services at 225-5616 or Dale Streetman at 365-5011.